Chicago to Arizona (typical, I know), some questions (Glendale, Chandler: credit, lawyers)

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by johnp292

I like Anthem (maybe 'cause I live here ). Not really a neighborhood, more like a small town.

It is farther from the airport and you have drive through the heart of rush hour traffic to get there from here. I solve that problem by scheduling my flights to avoid traffic when I can, or by leaving early enough to deal with it when I can't. Even during rush hour I can get to the airport in just over an hour, and I always leave plenty of time so I have a relaxed drive and plenty of time at the airport. I hate rushing to catch a flight and would rather sit at the gate waiting than stressing about it. The rush hour traffic here is slow, but nothing like what it is in major cities back east.

You mentioned doing woodworking in your garage. You're going to need to air condition your garage ($$$) to do that here in the summer months.

For more info on Anthem
| Online At Anthem

They could buy a standalone swamp, they work pretty well. It won't be 73 degrees, but it won't be bad.

[johnp292]

Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64

They could buy a standalone swamp, they work pretty well.

Now that you mention it, I saw those in Costco recently. My garage gets to probably 120+ degrees in the afternoon, it directly faces the sun. Would a swamp work in that much heat?

[smoochaz]

Originally Posted by crod1227

One other tip I'd like to give you is to use PODS or Pack Rat for your move, rather than a full service mover. We got quotes from full service movers in the $25K to $30K range, the PODS saved us a ton of money, especially if you're going to store your things, just hire movers to get your things into the containers.

$25k-30k to move your items?! I packed my own things and had movers come pick it up and drop off and I unpacked - not a full house but enough to get started and I believe it was around $2k and car was $850 - longer route to from NJ - shop around

<< to the OP - sounds like you prefer to have your home in Chicago under contract before making a commitment here which is a good idea especially if you're relying on your equity to qualify for a home here. As you know it takes 4-6 mos to build but there are ways to get around that.

For those buying in Gilbert, Chandler, Mesa, Peoria, etc. with an abundance of new construction, the new builds are so competitively priced it blows the resales out of the water. I showed homes to clients a month ago initially resales but then when we went to new builds and prices were more competitive and homes so gorgeous more energy efficient etc.and it was a no-brainer for them - new is the route they're going! Once you buy a new home however, if you plan on selling in the near future, you will be a resale! urghh scary in areas that have so much construction going on still IMO ... so buy with thought for the long term

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by Schaumburger1

I just had to chuckle about "Is there anybody still left in Chicago?" I attended college in Chicago, lived in Rogers Park (far north side neighborhood of Chicago) for a few years after graduation, moved to the northwest suburbs (Schaumburg) in the mid-1980's, and have been here since.

I would move out of the Chicago area tomorrow, but I have an elderly father with health issues that I need to stay close to. My dad is my only tie to the Midwest.

So I am looking at both Florida and Arizona as the place to spend my golden years. Chicago/Illinois no longer holds any attraction for me...other than the Cubs doing so well this year.

Hey, you might as well come to Arizona. You can follow the Cubbies from right here. Besides, Arizona's the actual SUNSHINE STATE, not Florida!

[GeneR]

disclaimer: I live in Festival.


Take a look at Del Webb’s Festival Ranch in Buckeye (although it’s much closer to Surprise). It has an elementary school in the middle of the development which would be an easy walk from any home. It is about 15 minutes from the city of Surprise and is sort of “out there” from all the hubbub of city traffic and other urban issues (i.e. problems). It’s adjacent to the 55+ community of Sun City Festival. Seems quite affordable and I would think a very safe and desirable family neighborhood.

Airport is about 50 minutes away. Communication is quite good with both Cox and Zona (fiberoptic).

[mprzybylski]

Thanks everyone, keep it coming! Really appreciate all the input. I've considered looking elsewhere recently as well so we will take a look at some of the cities/communities listed here shortly.

And yes, AC in the garage is a must for me. I'm considering a split unit in there and realize its a bit expensive so I may hold off on that for a year or two until we're settled in and avoid doing anything during the summer.

[MrsMac]

We live in Marley Park in Surprise and love it! It's a master planned community with tree lined streets built around 18 neighbourhood parks with A rate schools, architectural diversity (that was big for me; I don't like cookie cutter developments), and lots of community involvement and events (like the Boo Bash Halloween party, pet pawstume parade, and pumpkin carving coming up in October). Living here is like living in a small town in the middle of big city amenities. (We also loved Verrado in Buckeye, which was built by the same developer, but it's still just a bit too far from restaurants, shopping and medical for us.) The airport is 35-40 minutes away and there is a great shuttle service when we need to travel.

There are lots of beautiful existing homes for sale here (all built in the last ten years or so) and new build homes as well. David Weekly Homes, a fantastic builder, just started construction on two 3400+ sq ft single story homes on 13,500 sq ft lots close to the community Pool and Club which are within walking distance to Marley Park Elementary (K-8), an A+ rated school. Ashton Woods Homes is building in the newer section of Marley Park across from Legacy Traditional School (A rated, K-8) but they have a waiting list. You can always try choicing into Marley Park Elementary, though.

[mprzybylski]

I took a quick look at Surprise and Glendale on Zillow. I'm curious what the criteria for good schools for everyone is. Surprise and Glendale (at least the homes I looked at) consistently graded 3-5s on schools in a lot of areas. They use GreatSchools for their ratings which I've also been using as a standard and that is quite low (on a scale of 1-10). Most of the places we were looking at in Gilbert/Chandler were 8-10 rated schools.

Am I missing a good resource for school ratings and is GreatSchools that far off? I keep seeing people mention good schools but when I look at the housing around those areas mentioned I just don't see very good school ratings unfortunately.

[JGMotorsport64]

Originally Posted by mprzybylski

I took a quick look at Surprise and Glendale on Zillow. I'm curious what the criteria for good schools for everyone is. Surprise and Glendale (at least the homes I looked at) consistently graded 3-5s on schools in a lot of areas. They use GreatSchools for their ratings which I've also been using as a standard and that is quite low (on a scale of 1-10). Most of the places we were looking at in Gilbert/Chandler were 8-10 rated schools.

Am I missing a good resource for school ratings and is GreatSchools that far off? I keep seeing people mention good schools but when I look at the housing around those areas mentioned I just don't see very good school ratings unfortunately.

In Surprise, the Dysart schools West of Litchfield road are better than the ones east of it. In terms of High School Willow Canyon seems to be the top performer, but Shadow Mountain and Valley Vista do alright.

Once you're west of Litchfield the elementary schools are generally homogenous and I'd rate them above average for this area.

Make no mistake Chandler has better schools and the area is more mature, Surprise has a bit of an old person I don't wanna pay for schools problem. But the Dysart Schools have good resources like AP, IB, Honors, Sports, Trade Classes like fire science, auto mechanical, culinary etc.

I'd wager a lot of the negative Surprise reviews are related to how hard the area was hit by the recession. Most of the school funding comes through property taxes, when houses lost 1/2 their value, schools lost a ton of revenue, so things stagnated for awhile right in the middle of the districts rapid expansion. Today the area has matured a little bit and recovered.

Im not familiar enough with Glendale these days to say much about it, but I have some familiarity with Surprise. It's a nice, kinda boring, safe place to raise children. And the houses are new and cheap.

[mprzybylski]

Originally Posted by JGMotorsport64

In Surprise, the Dysart schools West of Litchfield road are better than the ones east of it. In terms of High School Willow Canyon seems to be the top performer, but Shadow Mountain and Valley Vista do alright.

Once you're west of Litchfield the elementary schools are generally homogenous and I'd rate them above average for this area.

Make no mistake Chandler has better schools and the area is more mature, Surprise has a bit of an old person I don't wanna pay for schools problem. But the Dysart Schools have good resources like AP, IB, Honors, Sports, Trade Classes like fire science, auto mechanical, culinary etc.

I'd wager a lot of the negative Surprise reviews are related to how hard the area was hit by the recession. Most of the school funding comes through property taxes, when houses lost 1/2 their value, schools lost a ton of revenue, so things stagnated for awhile right in the middle of the districts rapid expansion. Today the area has matured a little bit and recovered.

Im not familiar enough with Glendale these days to say much about it, but I have some familiarity with Surprise. It's a nice, kinda boring, safe place to raise children. And the houses are new and cheap.

Did a quick look at the high schools you mentioned. Willow Canyon is rated at 3, same as Shadow Mountain and Valley Vista is a 4. The district itself is a 4. That is not exactly instilling confidence in me